ON AN APHTHOUS AFFECTION AMONG CATTLE. 
55 
demn the fatal habit which exists among farmers, of constantly 
having recourse to exciting drinks. We have more than once 
seen the disease, which was at first but trifling, aggravated, and 
the eruption rendered difficult, by the absurd and irrational use of 
such draughts. 
The Curative Treatment 
Is simple, easily practised, and cheap, when no complication of 
disease exists. When once vesicles have appeared in the mouth, 
the animal should be dieted. Cows and oxen should be gargled 
several times a-day with a decoction of barley and honey in which 
sufficient vinegar or hydrochloric acid has been mixed to produce a 
certain degree of astringency. 
The gargling is managed by means of a small syringe, or, what 
is still more economical, by means of a bit of old linen affixed to 
the end of a piece of cane. 
Where there are a great number of sick animals, it will be suffi- 
cient merely to acidulate the farinaceous drinks : we have done 
this by mingling vinegar with the product of the distillation of 
potatoes. 
Those animals which are seriously ill should be kept as much as 
possible in the stables. Unfortunately this cannot always be done, 
as M. Levigney judiciously remarks, when speaking of herds of 
cows which constantly grazed on the pasturages. Under such cir- 
cumstances, a prudent practitioner will act in such a manner as to 
incommode his employers as little as possible. 
With regard to the exterior vesicles, there is no occasion to ex- 
cise them, as that operation does not at all expedite their cure. 
The treatment best adapted for them is the same as that which we 
have recommended for those situated inside the mouth, with this 
exception, that the proportion of hydrochloric acid should be greater. 
Warm wine, sweetened, we have found very efficient in some 
cases. 
We have, however, in other cases, seen ulcers around the alse 
of the nose, and extending to the junction of the skin with the pitu- 
itary membrane, which have resisted the abovementioned treat- 
ment. We have then made use of a desiccative composition, and 
with benefit, as it in general hastens the cicatrization of the wounds. 
Lead cerate has completed the cure. 
According to some veterinary surgeons, these ulcers occasionally 
take on a very malignant character : in such cases recourse must 
be had to the means most likely to put them in better condition, 
and bring on healthy action. 
Towards the fourth or fifth day, treatment is usually productive 
